World Reports

Monsanto and the Mustard Seed

The Monsanto Roundup–The ‘Mustard Oil Conspiracy’

India–In July 1998, protests erupted across India when the government
announced plans to import 1 million tons of US soybeans to be used as
oil seeds. Critics complained that there was no guarantee that these
shipments would not be contaminated with genetically engineered (GE)
soybeans. Besides, the Agriculture Ministry argued, the imports were
unnecessary: India already had an abundant source of edible oils right
here at home–mustard seed oil.

“Sarson” (mustard) is central to our Indian culture. The yellow
mustard flower is the symbol of spring. Songs on the theme of sarson
are an integral part of folk culture. Mustard oil is the olive oil of
Bihar, Bengal, Orissa and East Uttar Pradesh and is used for flavoring
and cooking.

Mustard is not just an edible oil. It is an important medicine in
the indigenous Ayurvedic system of healthcare. It is used for
therapeutic massages, muscular and joint problems. Oil with garlic and
turmeric is used for rheumatism and joint pains. Mustard oil is also
used as a mosquito repellent.

Mustard seed can be processed locally, making it available to the
poor at low cost. It is an integral part of India’s food economy,
having been integrated into cropping patterns over the centuries.
Clearly, as long as India had mustard seed, there was no market for US
soybeans.

The “Mustard Oil Tragedy”

In early August an unparalleled mass-poisoning tragedy began to unfold
in Delhi. The authorities determined the illnesses were caused by the
adulteration of mustard oil with seeds of a weed called Argemone
mexicana–as well as diesel oil and industrial wastes.

The symptoms included swelling of the feet, nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea, abdominal swelling, liver toxicity, kidney damage,
breathlessness due to retention of fluids in the lungs and death due to
heart failure. By early September, the official death toll was 41, and
2,300 people had been affected.

On August 27, 1998 the government announced that it was banning
the sale of mustard seed oil. It simultaneously announced a policy to
import foreign soybeans free of protective trade tariffs. The
justification was the mustard oil tragedy.

On September 4, the government banned the sale of all unpackaged
edible oils, thus ensuring that all household and community level
processing of edible oils was stopped. With this edict, edible oil
became fully industrialized. This in effect was the total destruction
of the food culture of India and the food economy of the poor who
depend on unpackaged oil since it is cheaper and they can buy it in
small quantities.

Who Gains, Who Loses?

When a crime takes place, the first question asked is who has a motive? Who could gain from the crime?

The mustard oil tragedy is unlike any other. First, while typical
cases of adulteration are restricted to particular, local brands and
remote, marginalized regions, the mustard oil tragedy simultaneously
affected nearly all brands and India’s capital, Delhi, was the
worst-affected region.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan stated the mass-poisoning would have
been impossible without an organized conspiracy. The adulteration was
intended to kill people conspicuously. The Rajasthan Oil Industries
Association claimed that a “conspiracy” was being hatched to undermine
the mustard oil trade and charged that the “invisible hands of the
multinationals” were involved.

The mustard oil tragedy forced India to import soybeans that could
be contaminated with GE soy. The soybeans, engineered by Monsanto
Corp., contain a bacterial gene that confers tolerance to Monsanto’s
herbicide Round up. These soybeans were not genetically engineered to
produce better taste or bigger yields: the sole purpose of Round up
Ready Soy is to sell more chemicals for seeds tailored to survive
Monsanto’s chemicals.

Because the US has been unable to sell its soy to Europe (owing to
consumer rejection of GE soybeans and a demand for labeling all GE
foods) the US is desperate to dump its GE soy on countries like India.
The mustard oil tragedy thus served as a perfect “market opening” for
US agribusiness corporations. Now they can make us completely dependent
on their soybeans for our edible oil requirements.

If traders cannot sell mustard oil, they will not buy mustard from
farmers, and farmers will stop growing mustard. This will lead to the
extinction of a crop that is central to our farming system and food
culture. Ironically, Calgene (now owned by Monsanto) has patented the
Indian brassica mustard seed. Therefore we could find ourselves
dependent on Monsanto’s patented mustard seeds.

In effect, the free import of oilseeds sounds a death knell for the entire domestic edible-oil industry.

Gene Games: A Bad Mix

Genetic engineering is a new kind of food adulteration that takes place
at the genetic level and is hence invisible. Genetic engineering allows
food adulteration to be done internally by introducing genes for toxins from bacteria, viruses and animals into
crops. Genetic engineering is adulterating foods with toxins from rats
and scorpions. The new “Verminator” technology uses genes for toxins
from rats.

Health professionals are concerned that the mass consumption of GE
foods could make treating infections more difficult because most GE
foods contain antibiotic-resistant genes. Further, foreign viruses and
bacteria from genes introduced into GE foods could interact with
bacteria and viruses in our bodies to create “super viruses.”

Since genetically engineered foods use genes from animals and
microorganisms, this can also violate the ethical and religious
principles of Jews and Muslims who need to avoid foods with substances
from specific animals, or of vegetarians who want to avoid substances
from any animal. Mixing animal and plant genes should be totally banned
both for health reasons and ethical reasons.

Products derived from genetic engineering should carry a label
stating that they are made from GE crops. New invisible forms of “food
adulteration” and biological pollution should be subjected to specific
safety tests so consumers can be provided safe food that is free of GE
hazards.

In the aftermath of the mustard oil tragedy, the Pure Food
Campaign has begun to conserve and propagate indigenous oil seed crops
in all their diversity. The Pure Food Campaign will promote the
consumption of chemical-free, GE-free, unadulterated, pure organic
foods.

Domestic mustard oil processing and distribution should be carried
out with full safeguards so that the ban can be lifted and consumer
confidence can be rebuilt. The government must announce a high purchase
price for domestic mustard to ensure that the ban does not have a
lasting negative impact on our farmers.

Vandana Shiva is director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in New Delhi, India and the author of Stolen Harvest.